Baren Digest             Saturday, 12 October 2002     Volume 21 : Number 1991


----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Lisa Sisley-Blinn <lsblinn#kzoo.edu>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 09:36:07 -0400
Subject: [Baren 19495] Re: Baren Digest V21 #1990 

I'm new to the Baren List, and so far have enjoyed everyone's writings for the
last week. I will be taking my first woodblock print class soon, and hope to get a
head start with all your great advice!

I would like to add a chop, of my own design to my woodblock prints, and a blind
embossing to my other prints (intaglio, lithography, screen, ...). Can anyone
recommend sources for either kind of stamp creation?

( I apologize if this has been a recent post by someone else. I'm still learning
how to use the archives.)
Lisa Sisley-Blinn, MI




------------------------------

From: ArtfulCarol#aol.com
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 09:57:38 EDT
Subject: [Baren 19496] Re: Chops 

Welcome to Lisa.
Address for chops, both in San Francisco;

824 Montgomery St
SF CA  94133
Phone     415-391-8860

or

Grant Street
4 blocks after Chinatown entrance, on left hand side.

Lisa, aren't you putting the horse before the cart?

Carol L
Irvington, NY


------------------------------

From: Charles Morgan <cmorgan#uvic.ca>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 06:47:11 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19497] Re: Baren Digest V21 #1990 

Make your own chop ... it is easy ...

Buy a bolt with a head of the size you want for your chop ...hardware store ...

File the sides of the head of the bolt to the shape you want ... file the 
top of the head smooth ... polish with successively finer grades of sandpaper.

Buy a small can of  shellac at the hardware store ... and a PERMANENT 
marker ...

Use the permanent marker to color the shellac so you will be able to see 
your design. Just cut open the marker (WEAR DISPOSABLE GLOVES) and dip the 
felt from the marker in the shellac. The shellac is thinned with alcohol 
which will dissolve the ink in the marker as well ... so the color will 
diffuse through the shellac.

Dip the head of the bolt into the colored shellac ... cover as much of the 
stem of the bolt as you can as well ... the shellac will protect the bolt 
from being eroded away. Stand the bolt upright with the head facing up to 
dry ... you can stick the end of the bolt into some dirt in a flower pot to 
stand it up. The shellac will dry in less than 1/2 hour.

Use a needle or similar instrument to draw your design in reverse on the 
head of the bolt ... scratch through the shellac, but do not worry about 
scratching the bolt head.

Go the to garden supply store or farm supply store and buy some pure copper 
sulfate ... blue crystals ... few ounces, less than half a pound, will be 
enough. Copper sulfate is used as an anti-fungal agent on fruit trees and 
also as a foot bath for cattle and sheep. Mix the dry copper sulfate 
crystals half and half with common table salt. Do not breathe the dust. 
Start with a small amount of water ... cup or so ... stir in the copper 
sulfate and salt mixture  till no more will dissolve ... Use a glass jar or 
ceramic container ... no metal !!!

Suspend the bolt head in the copper sulfate/salt solution ... try not to 
let any part of the bolt that is not protected by shellac sit in the 
solution. The copper sulfate/salt will etch away the steel that is 
unprotected. After about 45 minutes to 1 hour, your design will be deeply 
etched into the head of the bolt. Take the bolt out and clean off the 
shellac with methyl hydrate (alcohol ... from the hardware store), and then 
with water.

Pour the used copper sulfat/salt solution down the drain to get rid of it. 
The copper sulfate is not toxic unless you drink it ... it will stain your 
hands, but it will not burn you ... do not get it in your eyes. It will not 
hurt your drain pipes.

Now you have your chop ... just press it onto a stamp pad or roll a bit of 
ink onto the bolt head and press it onto paper ... VOILA !!!

Cheers ........ Charles

At 09:36 AM 10/11/02 -0400, you wrote:

>I'm new to the Baren List, and so far have enjoyed everyone's writings for the
>last week. I will be taking my first woodblock print class soon, and hope 
>to get a
>head start with all your great advice!
>
>I would like to add a chop, of my own design to my woodblock prints, and a 
>blind
>embossing to my other prints (intaglio, lithography, screen, ...). Can anyone
>recommend sources for either kind of stamp creation?
>
>( I apologize if this has been a recent post by someone else. I'm still 
>learning
>how to use the archives.)
>Lisa Sisley-Blinn, MI
>



------------------------------

From: Jim Bryant <jim.bryant#murraystate.edu>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 11:11:24 -0500
Subject: [Baren 19498] Re: Baren Digest V21 #1990 

Sharri,

You've got one of the best out there. Duane Chartier has Ph.D.s in both
chemistry and art history (as I recall). Has a business called ConservArt
operated out of Culver City, CA and Albuquerque, NM. (310)391-3537 (and he's
a very nice and knowledgeable guy.)

jim-


> ------------------------------
> 
> From: Sharri LaPierre <Barebonesart#attbi.com>
> Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 21:37:46 -0700
> Subject: [Baren 19494] Re: Baren Digest
> 
> Does anyone in the LA area know of a conservator to repair a severely
> damaged print?  The print is located in Lakewood, CA and I need to find
> someone reliable in the Long Beach/Lakewood area.  If you know of anyone
> would you let me know?
> 
> Sharri



------------------------------

From: "Lee and Barbara Mason" <lbmason71#attbi.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 09:40:27 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19499] chops 

Lisa,
I got a kick out of Carol saying you are putting the cart before the
horse...I think this is a great idea. What better way to start than to
envision the finished work. We get so involved with process that sometimes
we cannot see the end clearly! I have been a printmaker for 20+ years and
still don't have a chop....think what I could have done if I had gotten one
at the beginning! No one would wonder if work were mine or some other
Barbara's. It is a common name and there are at least two or three on this
list. Probably all after Barbara Stanwick if they are my age.....who knows.
I am actually named for an aunt, so they say, but my mother did love Barbara
Stanwick.

 I think you are on the right track, and I think I will finally bite the
bullet and design one for myself.....my website is handprintstudio.com, not
much there as I am a novice computer person, but I think a tiny handprint is
on the way to being one with the rest of the prints I make. I prefer it to
be embossed, rather than stamped so will have to find a stationery store to
make it...I am sure there is somewhere out there and that I can find one to
make it. I don't want just any handprint though, I want my own! Ha.
Best to all,
Barbara



------------------------------

From: "Maria Arango" <maria#mariarango.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 10:07:58 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19500] FW: Art Deadlines List - October 2002 FREE Edition 

Three interesting ops for printmakers.
I personally subscribe to this newsletter and the PAID edition is always
full of good opportunities for printmakers (works on paper, print, etc.). I
highly recommend it, probably the most complete source on the web.
This is part of the free edition that anyone can get just by subscribing to
the list.

Disclaimers:
No, I'm not getting a commission
No, I don't endorse any of the ops below, enter at your own risk

Hey, Charles, that was quite a step by step on making a chop. Thanks for
that!

Maria

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria#mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

This is the October 2002 FREE Edition of the ART DEADLINES LIST.  You
subscribed to the list. Instructions for how to unsubscribe from the
FREE edition, or change your email address, can be found at the bottom
of this message.  You can subscribe to the PREMIUM/PAID Edition
(credit card or check), and receive 600-900 announcements each month,
on the web, at:

           http://artdeadlineslist.com/subscribe

A FREE monthly email newsletter listing art contests & competitions,
art scholarships & grants, juried exhibitions, art jobs & internships,
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and art students of all ages. Subscribe to the FREE edition by sending
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- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 31, 2002 Call for entries: "Works on Paper 2003" National
juried exhibition at Goya-Girl Press & Contemporary Art
Gallery. Nov. 4, 2002 deadline. Exhibition: Jan 11- Feb 17,
2003. Awards, including publication of a small edition of
prints. Juror: Doreen Bolger, Director of The Baltimore Museum of
Art. Entry Fee: $25/5 slides. For Prospectus : (P)
410-366-2001. Fax:410-235-8730. araehse#goyagirl.com or send SASE to:
Amy Raehse - Director, Goya- Girl, 3000 Chestnut Av Suite 214,
Baltimore MD 21211

October 31, 2002 The Little Prints Broward Community College Fine Arts
Gallery is holding a National juried exhibition Feb. 6 through
Mar. 14, 2003, accepting original prints and traditional printed media
that have been completed in the last 2 years. No graphic or computer
art accepted. Collaged works will be accepted as long as part of the
work is of traditional type. No work shall exceed 20 inches matted in
any dimension. Deadline for slide entries is Nov. 11, 2002 at 2 p.m. A
non-refundable fee of $25.00 is required with a maximum of 3 slides
per entry, $5.00 for each additional slide. Cash recognitions will be
awarded to first, second, third place winners. Please send a
S.A.S.E. for information to: D. Sean Jendlin Fine Arts Gallery, BCC,
Central campus bldg. 3, 3501 SW Davie Rd, Davie FL 33314 OR
954-201-6984 OR www.broward.edu/locations/central/showdate.jsp
The following 20 or so items are randomly selected from the 600-900
announcements that PAID/PREMIUM subscribers receive each month.

Nov 13, 2002 6TH INTERNATIONAL OPEN The Woman Made Gallery invites
women from the international community to submit artwork. All themes,
styles, and media - except performance - will be
accepted. Juried. Contact: Woman Made Gallery, 1900 S Prairie Av,
Chicago IL 60616 OR http://www.womanmade.org/calexhibits.html



------------------------------

From: Daniel Dew <ddew#tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 15:56:19 -0400
Subject: [Baren 19501] HELP 

Carol, your e-mail address at AOL doesn't work.  Please snd me another
address for my resume.
I've been trying for weeks.

d. dew 

------------------------------

From: "Maria Arango" <maria#mariarango.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 13:51:03 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19502] magic numbers and stupidity 

I have a dilemma, except that would entail having two separate courses of
action, which I'm not sure is the case here. It's complicated...and somewhat
stupid...bear with me.

I sell some of my smaller works as >>un<<limited edition
(frame-it-if-you-like-or-use-as-card) prints. I sell them rather
inexpensively and it allows those poor souls who enter my booth but can't
afford a larger work to walk out with something. Yeah, and I make money too.

I also, as some of you may know, sell some original blocks once the edition
has been completed. Seems that particular strategy is going better than
expected, so I put up some of the smaller blocks for sale as well, after
printing about 200 or soish of the smaller prints. Man, that's a gold mine,
fellow printmakers.

Still with me? Good, here is where things get stupid. Now I have a finite
number of unlimited edition prints (huh?), so I could in effect, number
them. I know exactly how many I've printed because I keep track of such
silly things. By numbering them, my keen customers automatically believe
that they are getting a better deal--yeah, stupid, huh? same print, same
image, one little number makes the difference. Incidentally, no series has
ever gone beyond 230, at that point I usually barf all over my block from
pure repetitive image induced boredom.
Now what? I have some prints already sold that don't have numbers, even
though now they belong to a limited edition. I have now a bunch of identical
prints that people think are worth more because now they belong to a limited
edition and have those magic little numbers written on them, but I'm still
planning on selling them at rock bottom bargain basement (you get the idea)
prices.

Stupidly enough, I ask myself:
- -Does this "cheapen" my other prints that have always been limited (by
birth)? AND consequently,
- -If I am able to comfortably sell these smaller works so inexpensively, why
are my other prints "worth" more? Because I "planned" them to be limited
editions from the offset? Maybe I ought to have a price per square inch
scheme?

Those thought provoking questions give rise to even more stupid questions
and issues, such as:

- -Who cares? I can do limited editions, unlimited editions, ultra-limited
editions, editions that will never ever end...as long as I call a spade a
spade and sell them as what they are, right?

- -Will the fact that my inexpensive prints are inexpensive and now limited
bring the value down of my other limited edition prints? (think about that
because THAT is the stupidisimo issue of all; how can one print bring down
or raise the price of another??).

- -And furthermore--DAVE, will you please quit laughing? And furthermore, why
am I beginning to wonder whether this whole editioning thing IS really
stupid?
I mean, I usually base my editioning practices on such highly philosophical
bases as how much paper I have on hand at the moment, how tired I am when I
start printing, whether the cat interrupts me enough times with the stupid
lizard she caught, and causes me to prematurely end the edition to go lizard
hunting instead.

I mean, really! I can carve about 4 tiny little blocks every single festival
and print those suckers four at a time on my press, potentially producing
800 prints per week!?!? I mean REALLY! if I can turn those things over at
$10/piece, that would be an income of 8,000 US $$$ per week, isn't that
enough? Are these things we call prints so damn precious and those little
numbers so magical that automatically there is a price tag which must
account for the pain and suffering and intellectual property blah blah of
every other printmaking artist on the face of the earth??

Have I ceased to make any sense at all???
I thought so too.

Maria, befuddled with a stack of unprinted blocks...

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria#mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


------------------------------

From: Julio.Rodriguez#walgreens.com
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 16:20:10 -0500
Subject: [Baren 19503] Re: magic numbers and stupidity 10/11/2002 04:24:25 PM 

Maria writes:
"..Have I ceased to make any sense at all???"

As with anything in life, the best approach is to do what makes you happy!
In the end, If you are happy with your work, with
your output and your returns....all is fine.

My question is what lead to this train of thought ?  Did you have a very
successful show and now are pondering
wether you are getting your $$ worth ?  or did you have a poor outing and
wondering wether the whole editioning
& numbering scheme is at fault ?

Inquiring minds want to know !!!!!

Julio





------------------------------

From: "lmhtwb" <lmhtwb#prodigy.net>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 15:04:30 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19504] Re: magic numbers and stupidity 

>From Maria:


> Now what? I have some prints already sold that don't have numbers, even
> though now they belong to a limited edition. I have now a bunch of

identical

> prints that people think are worth more because now they belong to a

limited

> edition and have those magic little numbers written on them, but I'm still
> planning on selling them at rock bottom bargain basement (you get the

idea)

> prices.....


Be warned.  You're not going to like this answer.

My view of the numbering or not numbering an edition is that this is a
contract between you and the buyer, telling the buyer just exactly what they
are buying.  (States, such as CA who require a COA, also see it that way.)
If you sell prints as unlimited, while you are allowed to print however many
you want, you are not allowed to suddenly decide it is a limited edition.
Those that purchased a print as unlimited must either be informed of your
decision to limit that edition or you will have broken that contract.
Likewise, if it starts out being sold as a limited edition, you cannot
suddenly make it an unlimited edition, or print an identical edition, etc.,
unless of course you plan to be the next Thomas Kinkade.  Yes, this is an
archaic idea, contrary to modern business practices and rarely enforced, but
ethics have never been popular.

And yes, I'm having a crappy day, so I'm in no mood to sugar-coat anything.

Linda


------------------------------

From: "Maria Arango" <maria#mariarango.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 15:40:49 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19505] Re: magic numbers and stupidity 


> My view of the numbering or not numbering an edition is that this is a
> contract between you and the buyer, telling the buyer just
> exactly what they
> are buying.  (States, such as CA who require a COA, also see it that way.)
> If you sell prints as unlimited, while you are allowed to print
> however many
> you want, you are not allowed to suddenly decide it is a limited edition.


A couple of points on that. I do agree that if you sell a limited edition
and then you print more than you said you would, then the sacred contract is
broken. I have not nor ever do I plan to do that with my limited editions.
My diatribe was more to the question: Does this make any sense?
And, "allowed" by whom, incidentally...


> Those that purchased a print as unlimited must either be informed of your
> decision to limit that edition or you will have broken that contract.
> Likewise, if it starts out being sold as a limited edition, you cannot
> suddenly make it an unlimited edition, or print an identical
> edition, etc.,


Never did I suggest the opposite. Read that over again. A purchase made as
an unlimited edition will automatically (make sense or not) _increase_ in
price if I limit the edition. I can hear myself now, "Mr. Customer, I
formerly was going to make five gazillion of these but now there will only
be two hundred in the world, is that okay with you?" There is no "contract"
explicit or implicit in _unlimited_ editions. The artist is "allowed" to
print two or two million at will.

Thomas Kinkade? ouch, that hurt ;-) there is much ink under these
fingernails...

On that last point, again, it is not an ethical question at all, merely
rambling about the _concept_ of numbering an edition and its impact on the
value of prints and whether that REALLY makes sense.

Maria

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria#mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>>


------------------------------

From: "Maria Arango" <maria#mariarango.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 15:53:16 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19506] oops, forgot 

To answer Julio, I'm having great festivals, thank you.

Really I just started thinking about it because I sold a couple of blocks at
the last festival. I got back home and was pondering how many prints I
should print from additional blocks so I could get them "out there."
Once I printed a finite number of prints _as an unlimited edition???_ the
question came up: how much sense does THAT make? In reality, this is now a
limited edition; the block is cancelled and set to be gone. The question is
whether I number or not, the edition IS limited and being sold as unlimited
since no numbers are present to indicate otherwise.

I told you it was stupid!
Maria

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maria Arango
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
maria#mariarango.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


------------------------------

From: ArtfulCarol#aol.com
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 20:16:50 EDT
Subject: [Baren 19507] Re: magic numbers and stupidity 

Somewhere, at some time  I saw a word that refers to neither limited edition 
or unlimited so no promises , no commitment. I think it was uneditioned.

None of this refers to me because "some girls just wanna have fun"

Carol

------------------------------

From: "lmhtwb" <lmhtwb#prodigy.net>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 17:45:27 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19508] Re: magic numbers and stupidity 

Hey, I warned you that you weren't going to like it.  And you won't like
this any better.


> > If you sell prints as unlimited, while you are allowed to print
> > however many
> > you want, you are not allowed to suddenly decide it is a limited

edition.


> And, "allowed" by whom, incidentally...


Your own conscience.  The general agreed ethics of fellow printmakers.  The
state of CA.  Heck, general rules of commerce (probably not in the US
though!).  True, the cases usually involve printing more of a limited
edition than stated, but the principles unlying are the same in the reverse
case.  Since the state of California requires a COA with prints, what would
be interesting is the legality of having 2 different COAs, one stating it
was an unlimited edition and the other stating it was later changed to a
limited edition, all for the identical image from the same block.  2 COAs, 1
image -- some lawyer somewhere would love that one!


> Never did I suggest the opposite. Read that over again. A purchase made as
> an unlimited edition will automatically (make sense or not) _increase_ in
> price if I limit the edition. I can hear myself now, "Mr. Customer, I
> formerly was going to make five gazillion of these but now there will only
> be two hundred in the world, is that okay with you?" There is no

"contract"

> explicit or implicit in _unlimited_ editions. The artist is "allowed" to
> print two or two million at will.


Sorry, but I think there is an implied ethical contract, if not necessarily
a legal one.  If I bought an unnumbered, unlimited print from you, I assume
then that I have bought an unlimited print.  With your decision to make the
unlimited edition a limited edition, you have changed what I previously
bought from you.  Whether or not the value changes, the nature of the item
has changed.

As to the actual change in value, it depends on what print I own.  If I own
a numbered print, then it will be of more value than an unnumbered print.
If I own an unnumbered print, the value may actually decrease as it's
unnumbered and now there exists a numbered version.  From your point of view
as the seller, the value of each print increases once it's numbered, but how
will my print increase in value if it's unnumbered?  I was going to write
that most people wouldn't complain if the print was now part of a limited
edition, but I don't think so.  I would complain.  I bought an unnumbered
print from a supposedly unlimited edition.  Now suddenly prints from the
same block are part of a limited edition which now are numbered.  My print
is not numbered -- it's never going to be of equal value to one that is
numbered, yet it is from the same now limited edition.  I think I'd be
rather 'upset' if I found out.  Actually, go ask someone who bought one of
the unlimited prints if they minded if the rest of those prints were now
actually numbered and from a limited edition and thus worth more than their
print.


> On that last point, again, it is not an ethical question at all, merely
> rambling about the _concept_ of numbering an edition and its impact on the
> value of prints and whether that REALLY makes sense.


Of course numbering an edition is an ethical question, as well as a legal
one.  The numbering is, as you said, a sacred contract between the printer
and the buyer, recognized by law.  That is why it makes a difference in the
value of a print to a buyer.  That is why changing edition sizes in
midstream is 'frowned upon'.  That is why a print from a smaller edition is
valued more than a similar print from a larger edition.

Linda


------------------------------

From: "Bea Gold" <bnj50#earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 19:05:21 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19509] Re: Baren Digest V21 #1990 

What a great reference for us all - I was going to suggest contacting LACMA
but this sounds much better.  Bea
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Bryant" <jim.bryant#murraystate.edu>
To: <baren#ml.asahi-net.or.jp>
Sent: Friday, October 11, 2002 9:11 AM
Subject: [Baren 19498] Re: Baren Digest V21 #1990

Sharri,

You've got one of the best out there. Duane Chartier has Ph.D.s in both
chemistry and art history (as I recall). Has a business called ConservArt
operated out of Culver City, CA and Albuquerque, NM. (310)391-3537 (and he's
a very nice and knowledgeable guy.)

jim-


> ------------------------------
>
> From: Sharri LaPierre <Barebonesart#attbi.com>
> Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 21:37:46 -0700
> Subject: [Baren 19494] Re: Baren Digest
>
> Does anyone in the LA area know of a conservator to repair a severely
> damaged print?  The print is located in Lakewood, CA and I need to find
> someone reliable in the Long Beach/Lakewood area.  If you know of anyone
> would you let me know?
>
> Sharri





------------------------------

From: Aqua4tis#aol.com
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 22:55:50 EDT
Subject: [Baren 19510] Re: magic numbers and stupidity 

<PRE>what is a COA?

------------------------------

From: "lmhtwb" <lmhtwb#prodigy.net>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 20:09:10 -0700
Subject: [Baren 19511] Re: magic numbers and stupidity 

>From Aqua4tis#aol.com

> what is a COA?


Certificate of Authenticity  -- name, date, method, edition size,
cancellation, etc.



------------------------------

End of Baren Digest V21 #1991
*****************************